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Comment by bjl | Hacker News Reader

That's not at all surprising, though, that's how journalism has always worked (protecting one's sources). I certainly trust the WSJ over anything that comes out of Musk's mouth, especially after those pedo accusations.

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Musk has been a little weird these past few days. Like he really had time to go off to Thailand when he wasn't going to contribute in any way because at this late stage of the game, he definitely couldn't be a plan A, and there was only one shot given the rainfall timeline? This isn't the picture of the guy who sleeps on the factory floor to get them out of production hell. Besides that, he looked petty on Twitter. I know that he's always used Twitter for marketing but he looked dare I say Trumpesque.

Every once in a while I feel exactly what many Trump voters claim to feel when I see/hear this attitude. If a guy like Musk gets shredded for being authentic and at times a bit manic seeming, then it's no wonder polite society is such a sham. Real people who do stuff in the real world have off days. They make mistakes that they genuinely regret not because they got caught, but because those incidents represent them at their worst and they strive to spend more time at their best. Let's all cut everyone a little slack. Hanlon's razor applies when dealing with humans, no matter what their IQ and accomplishments.

Musk has hasn't just had a bad day. He's made a whole series of colossal strategic errors in stubborn defiance of conventional wisdom over the past couple years. The pedo comment is just the cherry on the tip of the iceberg. The delusional mini-sub stunt wonderfully encapsulates his whole approach to running the company. For years I've just been shaking my head as people try to rationalize his bullshit over and over, but those chickens are coming home to roost.

You seem to be referring to the erroneus and hostile narrative on the thai sub thing. Apparently Elon was in contact with the people leading the rescue and seemed to be level headed and cautious and courteus in dealing with them and approaching the situation when he offered to help, as can be seen from the tweets and what appear to be email exchanges between someone close to the rescue team and him. Of course he capitalized on the publicity but he it seems like his effort was trying to do good and did not impede the rescue efforts as far as I can tell.

The pedo thing was a stupid mistake stemming from anger that got lit up by accusations by someone criticizing what Elon probably perceived as sincere offer of help, and he says to have later apologized.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1019471467304513537 https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-full-story-behind-Elon-Musks...

I thought this was a sincere reading of the situation minus the typos. Is it too naive to trust Elon's word or is there something wrong here?

Eh, I don't know, I've never felt the need to call someone a 'pedo' with absolutely no evidence. That kind of thing is completely beyond the pale.

He's not a normal person. He's the CEO and face of a multi-billion dollar company. It comes with the territory to be held to a higher standard. He did the right thing with the apology. That doesn't mean he didn't screw up. We are allowed to talk about when people screw up, especially if they're the CEO and face of a multi-billion dollar company. At the very least, it's an opportunity for us to dissect and learn. At the very worst, it can affect investment decisions and people's livelihoods.

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